


Please Don't Leave Me

by ElyseVee



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Pregnancy, Teen Pregnancy, jasper (ship)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:58:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2695595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElyseVee/pseuds/ElyseVee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"No. No, this couldn't be happening." Everything has been going great for Jason and Piper- the war is over and they've finally been able to return to Camp Half-Blood to spend time with each other. But what happens when Piper finds out she's pregnant? And how will Jason react? Will their new found peace be shattered forever?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, so this was originally a oneshot on Fanfiction archive, but it grew into a multi-chapter fic pretty fast. I decided to post it on here, just to see what happens. Please enjoy! Post War, the nice angst/fluffy stuff ;)

"Piper? Pipes? Are you okay?"

"Go away, Jason. I'm fine."

Jason sighed. She was not fine, if the retching sounds coming from the bathroom were anything to go by.

"Please Piper. Let me in," he called through the bathroom door. Nothing but the sound of a flushing toilet followed.

It was dinnertime at Camp Half-Blood and almost everyone was enjoying their meals under the pavilion. Jason had been doing just that only a few minutes ago, that is, until he looked up to see his girlfriend running towards the bushes with a few of her siblings in tow.

He had immediately gone to follow her, but by then she was already making her way towards the Aphrodite cabin, shooing everyone away, claiming she was fine-which she was obviously not.

Only Lacy and Mitchell followed-and of course, Jason-and the three were now crowded outside the bathroom in the Aphrodite cabin. Jason sighed again and turned to face the two siblings. He was about to ask Lacy to try again, but he stopped when he caught her whispering something into a wide-eyed Mitchell's ear. When they noticed him looking at them, they immediately silenced, putting their concerned faces back on.

Jason narrowed his eyes, but decided it could wait until later.

"She won't budge," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe one of you can try again?"

Lacy pursed her lips and glanced at Mitchell, who nodded. Without a word, she pushed past Jason and pressed her cheek to the door.

"Come one Piper. It's time. You can't keep it from him forever, you know," she called.

The door cracked open a hair.

Jason couldn't see her face, but he could hear the frantic whispering going between the two girls. Though their words were incoherent, it sounded like they were arguing.

Finally, Lacy stepped back. She turned away from the door and grabbed Mitchell by the arm, dragging him from the cabin.

"Talk to her. It's okay," she said steadily as she pulled her brother down the steps.

Jason couldn't help but notice the glare Mitchell was giving him, however discreet it was. He shrugged it off. He had bigger problems to deal with.

"Are they gone?" Piper's voice was so faint, he barely caught her words.

"Yeah, they're gone. It's just us," Jason lowered his tone to match hers.

The door had opened up all the way this time, but Piper still didn't step out. Hesitantly, Jason walked through the doorframe.

Piper was standing at the sink, rinsing her mouth out with tap water. She grimaced as the acidy taste of vomit sloshed around her mouth.

Her hair was pulled back into a hasty ponytail and a few strands stuck to her sweaty face. Her tank top was wrinkled and stained with lipstick. Yet somehow, she still managed to look beautiful to Jason.

He noticed too, worriedly, that her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying.

Piper turned her face away from him as she wiped away the tears. Not wanting to embarrass her, he busied himself with taking in the bathroom. The place reeked with all brands of perfume; everything from Coco Chanel to Sexiest Fantasies filled the air. No wonder Piper felt nauseous.

The waste bin next to the toilet was overflowing with makeup removing cloths with dabs of eyeliner and whatnot staining the edges, empty bottles of every shade of foundation, and-

Jason's stomach dropped to his feet.

Pregnancy Tests. Three of them.

And each with a little blue plus sign glowing on the surface.

No, no, no, this wasn't happening. Not to them. It had to be someone else's.

Piper sniffed, pulling Jason back to reality. He faced her, face stricken with terror, but she refused to meet his eyes. Instead, she played with the hem of her shirt, wiping her nose on her shoulder.

"I wanted…I wanted t-to tell y-you," Piper hiccupped. Her voice sounded so small.

Jason's eyes softened. He wanted to reach out to her, but he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"I was just so, so afraid. I didn't know what you would think." She finally met his gaze. "I still am."

It was Jason's turn to avoid her gaze. What did he think? He terrified, of course. He couldn't do this! He couldn't be one of those awful teenage boys who get some poor girl pregnant, he couldn't steal her future away from her. And not to mention he had no idea how to raise a kid!

Kid? Kid! Kid…

As he said the word over and over in his mind, the world began to spin. Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods. This wasn't him! This wasn't them-

Piper let out a sob. "I-I'm s-so sorry, Jason…" she choked. "This is all my fault."

All the thoughts going through his head immediately vanished, and guilt took their place. If he was scared, he could only imagine how terrified Piper must have been. She was the pregnant one, after all.

This time, without any hesitation, Jason rushed forward and pulled his girlfriend into his arms.

"No, no, no, don't you dare feel bad Pipes. This is my fault as much as yours, even more so mine-"

He felt her shake her head against his chest. "No it's not. I'm the girl, it's my job to be responsible," she mumbled miserably.

Jason couldn't help but scoff. "Who told you that? No way I'm buying it. It's my responsibility just as much as anyone's, as much as it is yours. Don't pin this on yourself, Pipes."

To his surprise, Piper chuckled softly. "Guess we're both just that stupid, then," she muttered with a smirk.

He wrapped his arms around her even tighter pressed his face into her hair, taking in her in. She smelled like sweat and perfume and antiseptic, but she was Piper, his Piper, and he didn't think he'd ever smelled a more perfect scent.

No matter what happened, he would always love her. They had been through too much to give up now.

"Yeah, I guess we are," he replied.

She pulled back after a while. "What're we going to do now? We're so young."

They were young. She was only sixteen and he was only seventeen, not even old enough to vote.

"We'll figure something out, I promise. But right now," Jason took her by the hand and led her out of the bathroom and towards her bunk. "You need to get some rest. I can tell it's been a long day," he said softly.

Piper smiled faintly and allowed herself to be tucked into her bed. As she pressed her sweaty forehead into the cool pillow, she realized just how tired she was.

But she couldn't go to sleep, not yet. "Jason?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think…do you think this is completely bad? Like, aren't you a just a little bit excited?'

Jason bit his lip. He knew he felt fear. Fear for Piper, fear for himself, fear for the future. He also felt love. Love for Piper and anything that was hers, theirs.

But excitement? He wasn't so sure.

He tried to look into the future. Only an hour ago, he hadn't seen much in it. Just Camp Half-blood, Piper, maybe college. But definitely not a baby.

That word made Jason's heart pound frantically. Baby. A little girl or boy with his blue eyes and Piper's brown hair, or maybe his blonde hair and Piper's ever-changing eyes. That thought made him smile a little bit.

A little girl that he could protect and buy tea sets for and take stargazing. Possibly a little boy that he could teach how to throw a baseball and lift onto his shoulders and go camping with. Or maybe it'd be the other way around. He didn't really care, as long as they were happy.

"Yes," he said suddenly, surprising himself. "Yeah, I am."

A small, hopeful grin spread across Piper's face, lighting up her eyes. He didn't have much to enjoy it, though, because a big yawn took over the smile. Piper's eyes drooped as she attempted to cover it.

Jason leaned down next to her and pushed a strand of caramel colored hair away from her eyes as her they began to close. He kissed her once on her cheek gently, then placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. As he was slowly getting to his feet, he felt a hand grasp his own.

Piper's kaleidoscopic eyes stared up at him pleadingly. "Don't leave me, please."

Jason lifted the covers and slid in next to her, pulling her body to his.

"Never," he whispered back.


	2. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need a plan. And Fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just kind of a short, Jason-esque chapter. Don't worry, things will heat up soon, we're just setting the stage. Enjoy!

Morning couldn't come too quickly. After Piper had fallen asleep, Jason had scooped her up and carried her to his wonderfully vacant cabin, away from the peering eyes of nosy campers. He deposited her onto his own bed, tucking her in safely, then elected to rough it on the couch for the night. He didn't want to risk waking Piper up by trying to scoot his way under the covers. It probably wouldn't have mattered, though- she was out like a light.

From his place on the couch, Jason could feel the piercing glare of his father's statue poring into him. The imposing likeness of Zeus positioned in the center of the room seemed perpetually angry at everyone and everything.

Jason wondered if he knew about him and Piper. His father, not the statue.

Would he be upset with his son for screwing up so badly? Not with a good conscience, Jason thought. Zeus was the God of knocking girls up-mortals, goddesses, cows. Maybe it was hereditary.

Mr. Barnyard Casanova's stare wouldn't let him rest. Around four, Jason gave up on the prospect of sleep and threw on some old sneakers. With a quick glance over at his snoring girlfriend, he slipped out the door.

The statue watched him go silently.

As soon as he stepped out, the humid air smacked him right in the face like a fly swatter. He trudged through the dry, crunchy grass, listening to the cicada's loud chirping. As much as Jason loved Camp Half Blood, he had to admit he missed San Francisco's weirdly cool summers. At least there you didn't feel like the flesh was melting off of your face.

What the hell were they going to do? They had no solid plans for the future, only the vague idea of getting an apartment in Cali, a midpoint for the safety of Camp Jupiter and the familiarity of Piper's old Malibu Mansion. Other than that, they had no source of income, no place of their own- not to mention any actual experience at being so-called "adults."

We're so screwed, Jason thought with a sigh.

The first step would be to tell someone. Particularly someone not a teenager. As much as they liked to pretend otherwise, Piper and Jason were just kids. They couldn't do this alone.

But who to tell? Chiron would probably be the first. He would give them some comforting advice, per usual, and hopefully wouldn't treat them like some stupid babies whose mess he needed to clean up. Which is basically what they were, now that Jason thought about it. Especially himself.

Next would be their friends. That was going to be harder. Jason tried to gauge their reactions in his head.

Leo would try to make a joke out it, and Annabeth would call them idiots, but still be supportive. Percy would back them up without hesitation, and Hazel would try to help them out as much as possible. And Frank, although probably a bit unsure, wouldn't dream of judging them.

Yeah, that sounded pretty plausible.

He couldn't imagine what Nico would think. Or, Olympus forbid, Reyna.

Whatever happened, though, he knew that they would all back him and Piper up, no questions asked.

Jason took that moment to thank the Gods for such amazing friends.

Jason didn't know where he was going. Come to think of it, he wasn't really going anywhere. He was just walking.

Walking away, he realized. Walking away from his insomnia? Away from that freaking statue?

Or walking away from her?From Piper, and all his problems? All the problems that were entirely his fault. Problems that were more Piper's than his own, yet still could be blamed on him.

He wouldn't be the one getting stares on the streets and in the stores. He wouldn't be the one throwing up every morning and having weird cravings and having excess gas all that gross stuff they taught in Camp Half Blood's parenting class. Piper would be going through all that shit. And he was the reason.

Oh Gods.

Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh-freaking-Gods.

He was such an asshole. How could he have let this happen? Things were going so great, so perfectly. They were gonna go to college in New York together then move out to California and start their lives together and live as happily-ever-after as two demigods could together. Together, always together.

And then he couldn't keep it in his pants and things got royally screwed. Congratulations, Jason Grace, Praetor of New Rome, son of the oh mighty Jupiter. You are officially a douche bag.

If the naiad sitting at the water's edge hadn't given a shrill cry, Jason would've walked right into the lake. And onto her face.

Jason had somehow managed to daydream-walk himself right to the end of the pier and into dangerous proximity to water. One more step and he would have been taking a bath with Poseidon.

Thankfully, though, he didn't. He and his uncle weren't exactly "buddy-buddy," if you know what I mean.

The naiad rolled her eyes at him and dove back into the water with a splash, leaving him alone at the water's edge.

He sat down on the tall pier, swinging his longs legs. They almost touched the water's surface.

Things weren't going to resolve themselves. The pieces would lay on the ground until he manned up and put them back together. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes.

Okay, Jason. Time to use that brain of yours. Think. Start with what you know, like Annabeth taught you.

1\. I am an idiot

Well established. What else?

2\. Things are very bad

Yes, yes that's very true. But that doesn't help you.

3\. I have people who will have support me

Much better. Stay on that track. How can they help you and Piper?

4\. We have money, a place to stay, and adults who will have our backs

Perfect. Okay. Beginnings of a plan. Probably not a good one, but still a plan. Better than nothing.

All those things were right. Piper's dad had money, and by extension, so did Piper. They could get jobs and eventually figure out how to support themselves.

And they always had the option of living in New Rome, or maybe even in their own apartment nearby. Jason couldn't imagine living in Camp Half Blood while Piper was pregnant. That would be too awkward.

But that still left lots of possibilities. Jason hoped with all his heart that Tristan would help them out. He couldn't imagine Piper's dad turning his back on her when she needed him most. They were just too close for that.

So maybe things weren't as awful as he thought.

Jason looked at his moonlit reflection in the lake-he looked like crap- and heaved his tired bones up, trudging back to his cabin.

To his surprise, Piper was gone. She had probably returned to her own cabin so people wouldn't ask questions the next morning. Smart girl.

Jason looked at the rumpled covers on his bed. Sleep? Maybe? Please?

No. He was too restless.

Sighing, he dug under his bunk for the illegal laptop hidden there. Sorry Chiron.

It had been a gift from Piper last year. He had been shocked by her generosity and complained that it was too expensive. Which, of course, his wonderful girlfriend would have none of.

Jason smiled. Shit was bad, but shit would be okay, s'long as he had his girl by his side. That he could count on.

He opened up the laptop and cracked his knuckles nervously. Of course, he wanted to have the decency to talk to Tristan about this in person. He needed to email Daddy McLean and set up a trip out to California as soon as possible.

Jason pulled up his email and stared at the blank screen.

Hey, Tristan!

Too informal?

Hello, Mr. McLean.

Too formal.

Hey, Mr. McLean.

We know you're taking a break from filming these few weeks and were hoping we could drop by sometime to catch up. Piper's been missing you and I thought it'd been too long since we had a visit!

Gods, that sounded dumb. Maybe Piper should be doing this.

He started keying the back arrow, then stopped.

No. He needed to do this himself. He needed to show Piper's dad that he was taking charge in this situation, not just leaving his daughter to figure crap out by herself.

Undo, undo, undo. It was still dumb, but at least workable.

Hey, Mr. McLean.

We know you're taking a break from filming these few weeks and were hoping we could drop by sometime to catch up. Piper's been missing you and I know it's been way too long since we had a visit! If you're not doing anything, Piper and I would love to hang out for a few days. Email me back and we can set up some plans. Hope you're having a great summer!

Jason

Should he put his last name? Tristan was a famous actor, he probably knew tons of Jasons.

I wonder if he knows Jason Bateman, he thought.

This made Jason laugh at himself. Why on earth would Jason Bateman be emailing Piper's dad? He needed some sleep.

He didn't send the email yet. He needed Piper's ok before he made any moves. She would probably be on the same track as him, but he just wanted to be sure. This whole fiasco would be a team effort. They needed to work in sync.

Jason snorted. He sounded like Reyna. But hey, Reyna always got things done right the first time, so maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

For the first time in these chaotic twelve hours, Jason felt a weight leave his shoulders. Things were moving in the right direction. For now.

They might just be okay.

He shut the lid of the laptop and shucked off his shoes before crawling into bed. He buried his face in the pillow. It smelled like Piper- strawberries and pine trees.

He might not get to sleep, but he could at least rest his eyes for a while until morning call.

As Jason's breathing became slower and deeper, his body sinking into the mattress, an awful sound struck him awake.

A shrill scream echoed throughout the camp and Jason could only think one thing:

Piper.


	4. Vampire Bitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper gets some common sense knocked into her-- much to Jason's dismay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Kacy Myth and Luna Myth asked so kindly. Y'all are awesome. (And 100% of the reason I updated this morning.)

_As Jason's breathing became slower and deeper, his body sinking into the mattress, an awful sound struck him awake._

_A shrill scream echoed throughout the camp and Jason could only think one thing:_

Piper.

The scream had been cut short, like a flame being snuffed out suddenly. Jason was already halfway down the steps of his cabin, shoeless, before he knew what was happening.

Jason could hear a male voice coming from where the scream had originated and started sprinting. He pushed through a throng of confused, sleep-dazed campers, reaching for the coin that never left his pocket. Unless, of course, he needed it.

With a deft hand movement, he tossed the coin upwards, not bothering to watch it transform in the air. After only a second had passed, his right hand was wrapped around the hilt of Ivlivs, its imperial gold glinting maliciously in the morning light.

As he neared the Big House, the boy's voice, now accompanied by a girl's, grew louder. Ivlivs raised high above his head, Jason rounded the corner to the front of the Big House, ready to strike hard.

What lay in front of him was not a scene out of a horror film, but rather a very ordinary looking setup.

"Jason? What are you doing?"

Jason came to a sudden halt. Nico di Angelo and his girlfriend were standing in front of him, the latter's arms crossed over her chest, cheeks red with anger.

She was giving Jason a look that said, _Can you believe the nerve of this guy?_

Nico just stared at him quizzically.

Jason figured he must have looked quite a sight; running through camp in his socks and day old clothes, brandishing a fine edged, razor sharp sword.

His sword arm fell to his side. "But, you-Piper-screamed, and I thought-"

Piper huffed, making him stop. "Yeah, I did scream! Cause this crazy zombie guy decided to pop up out of _nowhere_ and scare the living shit out of me!"

Nico looked at her nervously. "Piper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, okay? I don't get what the big deal is-"

Piper opened her mouth to shoot something back, but Jason cut her off.

"Pipes, you know he didn't mean to. And we should be happy! Nico hasn't been by in weeks," Jason said, giving the son of Hades some serious side-eye.

Nico looked sheepish for a moment. Then his features transformed into a look of urgency. He smacked himself on the forehead.

"Oh my Gods, I'm so stupid," he moaned, running his hands through his shaggy hair.

Piper snorted. "Yeah."

Nico was too flustered to make a retort. He spun around, eyes wide. "Where's Chiron? I need to talk to him. I got-" he gave Piper a sidelong look- "distracted. It's really urgent."

Jason stepped forward. "Chill out, dude. He's probably still sleeping. We'll get him, okay? What's wrong?"

Nico was already jogging to the porch of the Big House. Piper and Jason shared a quick look, then followed.

"Nico, what is it? Seriously. You're freaking me out," Piper called out, trying to keep up.

Nico pushed the front door open and glanced around. He finally replied, "Empousa," without even turning around.

Piper and Jason stopped abruptly. Nico kept going.

"Empousa? Like, _just_ an Empousa? Aren't they all over the place?" Jason questioned, unsure of what had startled Nico so much.

"Yeah," Piper chimed in. "Half-Bloods deal with them on a regular basis, don't they? I didn't know it was such a big deal."

Nico turned around suddenly, eyes wide, making them step back in surprise.

"Not _just_ an Empousa," Nico said, mimicking Jason's deeper voice. " _Empousai._ As in, a gang of blood thirsty vampire bitches _only a few miles from Camp's borders."_

Jason's blood went cold. He understood. And judging by Piper's stony expression, so did she.

"A few miles? But I thought monsters hadn't been this close to the border in like, a couple of years." Piper said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"They haven't," was all Nico said before turning around and marching up the stairs.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Ten minutes later, twenty rumpled, sleepy looking teenagers and one centaur were assembled around a paint peeling ping-pong table. **(That's a mouthful.)** Before the addition of the new cabins, the head counselors could all fit in a somewhat neat circle around the table. Now it was more of a clustering of people squished in a weird polygon.

There wasn't much talking, mostly just yawning and cracking backs. Chiron sat towards the left of the clusters, in between Nico and Jason. Piper sat behind them.

When Nico had explained what he'd seen, Chiron hadn't looked surprised. He obviously wasn't happy about the news, but he at least didn't look to put off by it. The centaur had called an emergency head counselor meeting to discuss a plan of action- hence, the tired teenagers in their little unorganized mob.

"Counselors. I know you're tired, but I've gathered you all here for an urgent reason," Chiron spoke slowly. His voice sounded loud in the hushed room.

At this, the campers sat up a little in their seats.

"We have been informed that a small group of Empousai have been spotted in close proximity to our borders."

There was a collective intake of breath.

"As far as we know, it's only a freak occurrence. Nothing to get worked up over, I assure you. Possibly just some rogues-"

"Or spies!" said the son of Ares across the table from Chiron. No one said anything.

Chiron sighed. "Thankfully, that's a very slim possibility. For now we're going to stay positive and rational for now, if that's alright with you, Mr. Kouric."

The son of Ares rolled his eyes.

Chiron cleared his throat and clapped once. "Alright, so since this is, from our experience, a small threat, we will dispatch three demigods to explore and handle the issue. Just a routine extermination, children. Nothing to be frantic over."

There were a few murmurs, but no dissenters.

Chiron cleared his throat again. "Well, we need to figure out who these three demigods will be. Nico," he gestured to his left. "is our only firsthand witness on the situation. He is our best guide…" Everyone looked at the son of Hades.

Nico nodded tightly.

"Excellent. Now do we have any volunteers?"

Before Chiron could even finish his sentence, Katie Gardener had her hand in the air, much to everyone's surprise. It wasn't that Katie was a wimp or anything. She just seemed more interested in her begonias than in taking down Greek vampires.

"Alright, Ms. Gardener. I trust you are up for the task?"

Katie smiled. "Of course I am, Chiron. This is what I've been waiting for."

Everyone looked at her weird. She ignored them.

"One more, then. Who will it be?"

Everyone looked at Jason. He sighed. It seemed that no matter where he went, people would always be looking to him for a leader-"

"Piper," Chiron cut across his thoughts. "Wonderful. Your charmspeak will be invaluable against Empousai. They can be tricky creatures."

Jason turned around. Behind him, Piper's hand was raised, an apologetic look on her face. He gave her what he hoped was his most persuasive "don't you freaking dare" look. Piper didn't budge.

Chiron sat up in his wheelchair and looked around. "Well, that was easy. The three of you will head out tomorrow morning. Argus will drive you. Make sure to pack ambrosia and drachmas-in case you need to Iris Message us-and only the weapons you absolutely-"

"What about a prophecy?" It was Malcolm from the Athena cabin. He was filling in for Annabeth while she and Percy were at Montauk Beach.

Chiron shifted. "Well, I don't really see it to be necessary. This is such a small quest."

"What'll it hurt? It's just extra information, right? A little heads up."

There were a few nods.

"I suppose it could be worth a try," Chiron sighed. "Would someone please fetch Ms. Dare? Thank you, Andre." A Dionysus kid stood up and left.

As soon as he was gone, chatter took over. Jason took the opportunity to corner Piper, who was expertly avoiding his gaze.

"Piper! What on earth are you thinking? This is dangerous-"

"And like I haven't faced that before!" she shot back. "You heard Chiron. My charmspeak could make a huge difference in this quest. They _need_ me, Jason."

He shook his head, refusing to listen. "What does it matter? There are lots of powerful demigods here, I'm sure any one of them could go on this quest. And in case you forgot," Jason lowered his voice. "You're _pregnant._ If you get hurt, you're not just putting yourself in danger. You just can't, Pipes," he whispered pleadingly.

Piper looked at him with a mix of sadness and exasperation. "Jason. Listen to me. This is an easy feat. Just a couple of fanged bitches to gank, ya know? And there's nothing _for_ me to hurt. Not yet, at least. It's just a little floating bit of goo in there. Not the real deal."

Jason was both grossed out and angry. She was out of her mind, he decided. Totally out of her mind.

He opened his mouth to argue, but she put a hand up. "Listen, Jason. You know I love you, but you just can't change my mind. This is my decision, not yours. Deal with it."

He wanted to say, _But it's my decision when you're carrying something that's mine, too,_ but the thought made him a little queasy.

Knowing Piper, her mind was made up and there was nothing he could do about it. So he shut up.

Looking back now, Jason had never wished so hard in his life that he hadn't kept his mouth shut.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rachel finally showed up. She was wearing tattered shorts and a rumpled tank top. As always, her red mane was a frizz party.

She looked nervous.

"Rachel, thank you for coming." He gestured, as if to offer her a seat, but there weren't any. So, being Rachel, she hopped up on the ping pong table and sat, legs criss-cross-applesauce.

"I suppose you know why you're here. So I'll get straight to it. What lies in store for our three heroes?"

Piper snorted. It _did_ kind of sound like something out of a superhero cartoon intro.

Rachel licked her lips and clasped her hands together. "Um…well…"

All of a sudden, her neck arched backwards violently. Everyone grimaced. You could practically _hear_ the whiplash.

A green mist poured from her now open mouth, circling around the campers in a foggy ring. No one moved.

Then, she spoke:

_Your journey shall begin where it ends_

_In the den of Apollo, where the caretaker tends,_

_The trick of a goddess lighting her funeral pyre_

_And waiting to claim the soul wrought in godly faith and fire._

The mist evaporated and Rachel went limp.

Everyone stared at each other for a few seconds, until an audible sigh came from across the table.

It was the son of Ares again. "Big shocker! Prophecy was stupidly cryptic and entirely unhelpful. Like _that's_ never happened before…"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Piper came over to his cabin after dinner. Neither said anything about the quest or the baby. His girlfriend just pulled out the laptop from under his bed and started playing solitaire. Jason pretended to read.

Jason looked up from the page he had been staring at for twenty minutes. "So, um, have you already packed?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah. Think I got everything." She didn't look away from the laptop.

Jason nodded, too, to himself. "Good. Yeah, good. That's good." Mental face palm.

They weren't arguing, but things felt tense. Jason knew an apology would help unimaginably where Piper was concerned. But he just didn't feel very sorry. Worried, angry, yes. Sorry? No, not really.

So instead of pulling her into his arms and kissing her and telling her how much he loved her and cherished her, he let her go.

He let her give him a peck on the cheek and a quiet "good night" and watched her leave.

And that was that.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Argus, Katie, Nico and Piper departed promptly at 7AM the next morning. Jason felt immensely nervous. And he wasn't even going on the damn quest.

Piper hugged him hard before she left. He allowed himself to breath in her scent, cherishing every bit of her.

Piper stared at his face and said with her eyes what didn't need to be spoken aloud.

_I love you. It's okay._

Not an apology, but more of a call for peace.

Jason kissed her gently on the lips, slowly and carefully, like she might turn to dust under his mouth. She wouldn't, and he knew that.

"Good luck," he whispered. "Not that I think you'll need it. I'm sure everything will work out perfectly."

"Don't jinx me," she replied, prodding his chest with her index finger. Then she smiled.

Jason watched the white van disappear down the dirt road in silence. He couldn't help but feel like everything was about to change.

And it was.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Nico said it wasn't far. Obviously. That was kind of the problem.

There were three rows of seats in the van, but they all chose to sit together in the second row, right behind Argus and his three hundred eyes. It was more than a little unnerving.

They didn't talk much. Piper was starting to feel bad about yelling about Nico earlier. She just couldn't help it, though. Her emotions were all over the place these days- all sobby and chokey a couple nights ago with Jason, irate and snappy yesterday, and now just plain emotionally exhausted. She wondered if there was a "happy" on this wheel of bad fortune.

Though, Nico didn't seem too put off by her hostility. Like he was used to it, maybe. The thought made her feel guilty. She smiled at him in the rearview mirror in silent apology. There was have to be a real effort to say sorry the right way when they got back.

Piper and Katie didn't know each other too well. Katie was a summer camper, from what Piper could tell, and was pretty well occupied with her flowers and friends and boyfriends. There wasn't really time to strike up a conversation. Maybe this would be an opportunity to make a new friend, she thought. A nice, positive thought. Quite a rare gem these days.

For all she had to say to both of them, Piper said nothing. And for the love of it, she couldn't figure out why.

No one else elected to speak until they pulled off of the dirt road and onto a paved, albeit worn, road. Nico began to point out landmarks to Argus. He had seen the Empousai on the side of the road, next to an old pick up. About three or four of them, he said.

When Katie asked Nico what he was doing on this old road he just shrugged.

"Nice place to walk. Not to many people around. Quiet."

Piper realized that it probably wasn't the best idea to be looking for them in this place. What were the odds that they decided to pop back up the next day in the exact same spot as yesterday, on this old, disused road? She pointed this out to her companions.

"If they're here, they're here for a reason," Nico said with a sigh. "Chiron was just trying to reassure us, but it doesn't make sense. They know it's stupid to get this close to camp. There are plenty of easier meals all over the country, the world." He waved his hands, as if demonstrating the abundant possibility of global human snacks.

"Chiron could be right. Maybe they're just dumb, or even daredevils, trying to get a taste of demigod," Katie said.

"But Nico could be right, too," she added. "It's probably more likely that whatever they have in mind, it's something more than a suicidal buffet trip."

They let those thoughts stew for a while.

Argus drove them farther down the road, which was getting more densely populated. Truck stops and gas stations and billboards began to appear out of nowhere, (like Nico) and Piper had a feeling this road led onto a highway.

They were going as slow as the speed limit would allow, keeping their eyes peeled for any suspicious persons. Or, more accurately, suspicious Empousai. Which, as Piper thought about it, were probably always considered suspicious.

She laughed a little bit to herself. Laughing, of course, reminded her of Leo. She never knew she would miss that little crap so much. He was spending time with Calypso in San Antonio, working on setting up their own machine shop.

He'd have to finish high school before he made any big decisions, Piper had reminded him.

She was happy for Leo, she really was. She just hadn't realized how much influence he had in her life until he was gone. That's the way these things worked, she guessed.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Towering evergreens and the occasional truck stop would float by, but there was no sign of any Empousai. Then-

"STOP!"

Argus slammed on the brakes.

She had almost missed them. They were crowded in a little circle in front of a worn out Sip N' Save, all four decked out hooker heels and booty shorts. Somehow not surprising.

Any ordinary mortal wouldn't have seen anything other than that, but Piper was no ordinary mortal. As she focused on their appearance, layers seemed to melt off of them, until their hairy legs and fangs were totally visible.

They pulled into the parking lot as inconspicuously as possible. The place was totally deserted. It looked like there was someone at the register inside, but the parking lot was devoid of vehicles. As they passed the little crew of Empousai, none of them seemed to notice the van. Piper could've sworn one of them was staring at her, though.

The van managed to slip into the back parking lot without any fatal attacks. That was a good start.

As soon as Argus pulled the key out of the admission, Katie was talking.

"There's four of them. Three of us, unless Argus-"

The many-eyed man shook his head apologetically.

"Okay," she continued. "Three of us, four of them. Nico can take two, Piper and I can each take one of the other two. We bring only the weapons we need, leave everything else in the van. Act natural, then strike. Sound good?"

It sounded pretty damn good to Piper. She had to admit, Katie could take charge. She liked that.

Nico wasn't so sure. "Why do I have to take two?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "Because you're a big three kid. You have your skeleton army, ground opening up, aura of death thing. Good for taking on multiple enemies."

Nico didn't look happy, but he didn't argue.

They retrieved their weapons from their bags, unsheathing swords and daggers.

Piper was starting to feel excited. The thrill of battle, adrenaline pumping through her veins- it was the best medicine for a demigod in need of a pick me up.

She smiled. "So now we have a plan. Is there anything el-"

_SMASH._ Glass was raining down before she could finish her sentence. There, peering at them through the shattered windshield was an Empousa.

Another Empousa, who, with one of her hooker heels through the window and sitting on the dashboard, pushed her little girlfriend out of the way.

She smiled. "Hello, pretties! We knew you'd come!"

Nico seemed to break from the trance. He ripped his seatbelt off and threw the door open. Katie and Piper followed.

"Way ahead of you!" one of the vampires cackled.

Thankfully, all three seemed to remember their plan. Each chose their designated target-or targets, in Nico's case-by proximity.

Piper's opponent advanced on her. She had on short-shorts that hugged her thighs and a bright green crop top. Her jet black hair was piled on top of her head with generous hairspray, little bits falling onto an orangey, spray-tanned face. She looked like a Jersey Guidette from hell.

Fangs bared, Snooki pounced. Piper slashed at her side with Katoptris's long blade, bending backwards to avoid the frontal fang assault.

Snooki didn't miss a beat. She ignored the droplets of ichor running down her sides. It was a superficial wound, at most, probably.

Piper took up the offensive this time, feigning left, then driving dagger into the Empousa's other side. The monster hissed, more angry than injured, it seemed. She pounced again, this time faster and harder.

The force threw Piper off balance and the two tumbled to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Katie summoning scraggly kudzu from the woods, using the vines to strangle her Empousa. Weeds shot up from the cracks in the pavement and weaved their way around her heels. The monster shrieked.

Dang, girl.

Piper had her own stuff to worry about, though. Particularly, evil Snooki trying to gnaw her face off.

The Empousa had the advantage from on top. She pinned Piper's wrists to the pavement on either side of her head. Katoptris fell from her grip.

_Okay, physical combat's not going to great. Try charmspeak._

Piper took a deep breath, and in her gooiest, prettiest voice, she crooned, "Come on. You don't want to kill me."

The grip on her wrists loosened ever so slightly. She took that as a good sign.

"You want to let me and my friends go, don't you? You have better things to do than munch on nasty kids like us. We're no good; all sinew and bone." Piper smiled sweetly for effect.

Snooki looked only slightly dazed, but it was all Piper needed. Summoning up all her strength, she flipped themselves over, so she was on top of the Empousa. Katoptris lay a few feet away.

Snooki was furious. She clawed and kicked at her opponent viciously. One of her claws managed to snag Piper on the face, but she barely felt it.

She dug her nails into the monster's skin, trying to hold her down and reach for her blade at the same time. It was difficult; Snooki was surprisingly strong.

Just as Katoptris was only inches from her fingertips, a scream ripped through the air. Piper looked up for only a second to see one of the other Empousa knock Nico to the ground roughly. Blood was dripping down his side. Katie, who had already finished off her vampire bitch and was assisting Nico with his own, looked horrified.

Unfortunately, that second was all Snooki needed. She flipped over again then heaved Piper up from the ground by her waist and dragged her to the edge of the parking lot.

Piper slashed and elbowed and kicked at the Empousa, but it was no use. She was _pissed._ Next option: screaming. Katie and Nico seemed pretty occupied, but a girl could always hope.

Snooki smacked a hand onto Piper's mouth before she could try. " _Shut. Up._ I am so freaking tired of your dumb voice. Just shut up."

Before Piper could make any more attempts at resistance, she was being shoved, stomach first, to the ground. They were right up against the grassy island behind the curb. Little did Piper know, she would be getting to know that curb very well.

Snooki sat herself on the backs of Piper's legs and grasped a hunk of caramel hair in her bony hand. She yanked Piper's head backwards then pushed it forward forcefully into the curb.

The cement collided with her forehead and she saw stars. The Empousa yanked and shoved again and again and again, until blood spattered the curb. Piper had never felt so dizzy in her entire life.

After three sickening cracks, she yanked Piper's head all the way back, so that the pain-hazed demigod could feel hot breath on her neck.

Snooki laughed. "You are gonna taste _so_ good, you little bitch."

Piper closed her eyes and waited for the sharp sting of fangs on her skin that never came.

In an instant, the weight of the Empousa disappeared completely. Foul smelling, yellowy dust rained down on Piper's body. She heaved herself onto her back to see Katie, a silhouette in front of the bright sun, staring down at her.

"Oh my Gods, Piper…what happened to you?" she sounded terrified and Piper wondered if she could possibly look worse than she felt. It didn't seem likely.

Dark spots danced in her vision and Katie's voice began to fade away, like she was falling down a deep, deep well.

"Piper? Piper! Look at me, okay? Stay with me. We got them, they're dead, now we're gonna get you back to camp.."

Piper gave up on focusing her vision and let her eyelids slide downwards.

"Piper! _Piper._ You have to stay awake, everything's going to be-"

And then darkness enveloped her.


	5. The Truth Comes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan McLean decides he is much too young to be a grandpa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You should probably know that I have eleven chapters already written; I'm pacing myself ;)

It had been four hours, twenty-two minutes and fourteen seconds. _Four hours, twenty-two minutes and fifteen seconds_ since the girl he loved and one of his best friends left on what was supposed to be a routine mission.

A lot of things could go wrong in four hours, twenty-two minutes and sixteen seconds.

Not that Jason was counting or anything.

He had been spending almost all of these four hours, twenty-two minutes and seventeen seconds pacing in front of the Big House, staring out into the distance and waiting for that white van to pull up, his girlfriend to pop out, hug him and tell him she was okay.

Four hours, twenty-two minutes, eighteen seconds and no such luck.

"Lightning rod! C'mere!" Mr. D called out to him in his raspy voice. He and his son, Pollux, were playing pinochle on the porch, watching him pace.

Jason looked hesitantly down the hill, then back up at Dionysus. The wine god rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, you're not going to miss any action five feet away from that ditch you were wearing into the ground. It won't be the difference between life and death, air head," he growled.

Jason sighed and sat down at the seat between Pollux and Dionysus. Strange looking cards were spread out over the table. He had only played pinochle twice; once with his sister, who whooped his ass, and a second time with Chiron, who Jason was pretty sure let him win.

He looked up at Mr. D expectantly. The god was staring at a wine glass full of Diet Coke sadly.

Jason cleared his throat. "So…"

Dionysus didn't look up. "What?"

"Did you want to talk to me about something, or…?" he ventured.

Mr. D chugged the rest of his Coke straight from the can, crumpled it and threw it into the bushes a few feet away, belching loudly. "No."

"No?" Jason asked.

"Honestly, I just wanted you to stop pacing. It was irritating," he answered absentmindedly.

Pollux rolled his eyes and dealt Jason a hand of cards, who was staring at the god in disbelief.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Neither players were nearly as gracious as Chiron, and Jason found himself being mercilessly skinned at pinochle, though he was really too preoccupied to care.

It had been four hours, thirty-two minutes and thirty-four seconds since Piper, Nico and Katie had left.

_Now_ he was counting.

After they finished their first game Mr. D announced, "Well, that was very boring. I'm going to take a nap now." With that, he stood up from the table unceremoniously and went inside.

Pollux and Jason started a new game in silence.

Jason's knee was bobbing up and down nonstop. His hands had begun to shake and he kept dropping cards. He was _really_ starting to worry about Piper.

Why was it taking so long? They were only supposed to be going a few miles out, just dealing with a few monsters. It shouldn't have taken four hours, thirty-four minutes and fifty-six seconds to gank a couple of Empousai.

But it _was,_ and Jason was really starting to freak out. What if they had underestimated and there were really _twenty_ Empousai waiting for them? Or what if it wasn't just Empousai, but hordes of nasties waiting for a taste of demigod?

As if sensing his distress, Pollux sat his cards down and looked at Jason. "Look man, it's okay. There are always little bumps in the road when it comes to quests. Nothing to freak out over. I'm sure they're all fine."

Jason tried to believe him, but he just couldn't shake the feeling of dread welling in his stomach.

"But there are just so many things that can go wrong. What if they don't ever come back? What am I supposed to do then?"

As if in answer, a horn honked from down the hill, causing Jason's heart to leap out of his chest.

He leapt from his seat, scattering cards everywhere. He raced down the hill to see the white van with its windshield shattered and tires patched with duct tape.

It pulled as far as it could up the hill, honking its horn three times over and over again. Jason was nearly at the bottom of the hill, ready to spring on Piper and pull her into his arms, where she would never leave his sight again. He was only fifteen feet away when Pollux caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder.

Jason whipped around to stare at him. "What the hell, man? I have to-"

"Jason," Pollux cut across him. "Three honks means serious injury. We need to stay back and let the medics through."

Jason's stomach dropped to his feet. "Serious injury?" he choked out.

Just as Pollux had said, children of Apollo were racing every which way; some towards the van with a makeshift stretcher, others into the infirmary to prepare a bed.

_Please don't be her, please, please, please,_ he prayed to himself.

All of a sudden Nico sprung out, blood on his side. He started to assist the medics with pulling the injured camper out.

She came out feet first, sneakers stained with red. Her body slowly began to appear. Bruises covered her legs and thighs and blood spattered her clothes. Jason began praying again.

_No, no, no, no not her. Please, not her. I'll do anything. Just please, not her. Not Piper._

But as the injured camper's face appeared, he immediately realized his prayers were in vain.

Piper, his Piper, was being lifted like a limp doll onto a stretcher, her eyes rolled back in her head. She had a big, nasty bruise on her crown-almost the size of his whole hand-and blood was pouring down the side of her head. Jason felt like he was about to throw up.

Pollux's arms were the only things keeping him from barreling down the hill and scooping her into his arms. They gripped bruisingly tight on his biceps.

He was forced to watch the person that made his world go round, the light and love of his life, be rushed into the infirmary on a stretcher of wood and canvas, and not be able to do a thing about it.

Jason had been bashed in the head, knocked off of canyons, had the skin scraped from the muscle and his bones snapped in two, yet he had never felt a pain as terrible and agonizing as this one.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Piper heard voices fading in and out all around her.

"-critical, could be internal bleeding.."

"-need to staunch the blood before she-"

"-really bad. Really, really bad."

Then there was silence.

She felt cold hands on her chest, on her face, in her hair. They were quick and sweeping in their movements, like a frozen paintbrush on her skin.

When Piper managed to peel her eyes open, the world around her was swimming in and out of focus. She could just make out a slender figure before her.

The figure came closer and Piper felt something prodding at her lips.

"Open your mouth, girl. This will heal you," the voice of a young girl commanded softly.

Piper complied and let her lips part. A straw grazed her tongue lightly and she tasted the ambrosia. It was her dad's delicious Baklava in liquid form, warm and gooey in her mouth.

The straw was pulled away and she sighed contentedly. Warmth was spreading through her slowly, sending gentle shockwaves down her all her limbs. It was heaven.

Then all of a sudden, an unbearable heat surged through her body, like liquid fire coursing through her veins. She opened her mouth to cry out in pain, but no sound came out. The girl didn't do anything to stop the pain. She just stared at Piper with vague fascination.

The fire ripped at her skin and bones savagely. Hot, thick tears dripped down her face as she continued to scream silently, praying for the pain to stop.

The girl finally reached forward and placed an icy hand to Piper's forehead. The burn subsided, much to her relief.

The world began to drift and fade again, until a dark curtain descended slowly on her vision, bringing all consciousness to a halt.

Little did she know, this scene will have faded away from her memory completely by the time she awoke.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Piper woke up half an hour later to dazed looking medics milling about her. They were all idling around, just staring at each other in confusion.

She wanted to ask them what was wrong, but her throat felt like someone had gone at it with a hairdryer.

One of them, Cal, a son of Apollo, finally seemed to realize she was awake. He approached her slowly, like she was a wild animal.

"Hey, Piper. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," she managed to croak out.

Cal nodded to himself. "Good, that's good. Um, so we're gonna have to keep you in here for a few more hours, just to make sure everything's working the way it should. You should be okay to leave by about dinner. Sound alright?"

Piper nodded.

"Awesome. Your boyfriend's been waiting out there for a while, you know," he added with a smirk. "If I don't let him in soon, I think he's gonna fry the whole camp."

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Jason was pacing. Again. By the end of the day, he'd probably have logged a whole marathon worth of pacing.

He couldn't get the image of Piper's broken form out of his head. It was permanently imprinted into his brain. He couldn't stop thinking about what would've happened if they hadn't gotten back to camp in time.

It was all his fault. If he had just tried harder to convince her to stay, none of this would have happened.

The screen door of the infirmary swung open and Jason whirled around. Cal was staring at him nervously.

"She's awake. You can go in if y-"

Jason was already pushing past him before the poor guy could even finish his sentence.

Piper was curled up on the bed looking more fragile that he had ever seen her. She looked unhurt now; the bruises had faded and all the blood was gone. Not injured, just a little shaken. _Ambrosia,_ Jason realized gratefully.

When Piper saw him, her eyes lit up. She reached for him and, striding forward, he fell into her warm embrace. She smelled like sweat and blood, but still he'd never felt so relieved in his entire life.

She was crying.

Jason crawled into the cot and pulled her close, whispering nothings into her ear. _It's alright, I'm here. It's okay. I love you._ He kissed her eyelids and her cheeks and her nose and forehead and her lips and her tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid," she murmured into his shoulder, clenching her clammy fingers around his shirt.

Jason shushed her. "Don't be. And you're not, not at all. Everything's okay now. You're better now," he whispered.

She cried even harder.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

True to his word, Cal let them leave by dinner time. Piper said she wasn't hungry, but Jason made her go to the dining pavilion with him. They sat together at the Zeus table.

Other campers were eyeing them- Piper in particular -with interest, but the two were only paying attention to each other. Jason hadn't let go of her since they left the infirmary; whether it be an arm around her shoulder, a hand holding her own, he made sure they were always touching. On any other occasion, Piper might have found this irritating, but she realized that maybe just for now it was what she needed.

They picked at their food in silence for a few minutes. Jason's hand was balanced on her knee.

Finally, Piper said, "So what now?"

He knew what she exactly what she meant. "I wrote an email to your dad about visiting him in Malibu. I figured you would want to tell him in person."

At Piper's surprised expression, he added, "I didn't send it. I wanted you to read it first."

She nodded, looking impressed. "Are we going to tell Chiron?"

"Yeah, but he's not here right now. I asked Mr. D while you were in the infirmary, but he wouldn't tell me anything other than it was "emergency pony business" and that'd Chiron back soon. So I guess we'll have to wait," Jason replied through a mouthful of macaroni and cheese.

Piper cleared her throat. "So he didn't see me injured?"

Jason shook his head. "Why?"

She was silent for a moment. "I don't know, I just, I mean- he made such a big fuss about me being "vital to the quest" and all that. And then I ended up getting my face smashed into a curb like an idiot. It's embarrassing, that's all."

Jason winced at the mention of her injury. "Pipes, you've kicked all kinds of bad guy ass. This was _one_ time. Every demigod has an off day, don't beat yourself up about it."

"Yeah, okay. Just don't mention it to him, alright?" she pressed.

"Sure," Jason agreed.

"Piper! Hey, Piper!" It was Katie.

Piper turned around to see her marching towards their table. "Hey, how are you feeling? That was a pretty nasty bruise. You scared me and Nico half to death!"

Piper forced a smile. "Yeah, would've been much worse if you hadn't been there to kill that Empousa, though. Thanks, Katie. I owe you my life."

Katie's cheeks turned red. "Yeah, well, anyone could've done it. No biggie."

"Big biggie, actually," Piper replied.

"Well, you know. Anyway, Chiron's back and he wants us to debrief him after dinner. You up for that?"

Jason looked at Piper nervously. She bit her lip, but answered, "Yeah, I'm up for it. Big House?"

"Big House," Katie confirmed. "See you then, I guess."

"See you then."

When she was gone, Piper smacked a hand to her forehead and groaned. Jason patted her knee sympathetically.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Jason decided that he would wait on the porch until the three had finished debriefing Chiron. Then they would tell him.

Walking hand and hand, they made their way to the Big House. Katie and Nico were already there.

She walked up to them hesitantly. "Hey, guys, I was wondering if you could maybe not mention me getting hurt to Chiron. I mean, I'm fine now and there's no point in worrying him. Could you do that for me?"

The two looked at each other, then Nico spoke. "I guess, Piper, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do."

"It'll be fine," she urged. "And thanks, really."

Chiron appeared on the porch. "Good, you're all here. Mr. Grace, will you be joining us?"

Jason shook his head. "Just walked Piper here. I'll be waiting outside."

Chiron nodded. "Alright. Come on, you three. I believe we have some things to discuss."

They followed him into the rec room and sat around the ping pong table. Chiron got right down to business, asking them to tell him- in detail- what had happened on their quest.

Katie took the lead, explaining how they had found the four Empousai at the truck stop, describing the fight-except for the part where Piper was injured, thank goodness-and how they had killed all four Empousai.

Chiron looked mildly impressed. "Well, I'm glad you're all back here safely. Were there any injuries?"

Nico jumped in. "I just got a little scraped up on my side. Just a few bumps and scratches on everyone. Nothing major." Bless him, Piper thought.

Chiron didn't look completely convinced, but he let it slide. "Thank the gods for that, then. And I'm sure you're all feeling just as puzzled about the prophecy you were given as I am."

Piper hadn't even thought about the prophecy. She recalled the first few lines:

_Your journey shall begin where it ends_

_In the den of Apollo, where the caretaker tends-_

Her blood ran cold. The den of Apollo, where the caretaker tends? That sounded blatantly like the infirmary, she realized. But prophecies were rarely ever blatant-

Was she just misunderstanding? And how could her being in the infirmary be the beginning of this so-called "journey?" It didn't add up.

Katie spoke up. "Do you know what it could mean, Chiron?"

The centaur sighed. "I have a few ideas, but I can't be sure. We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose."

He looked directly at Piper. "And you're sure you're telling me _everything_ about the quest?"

She could feel Nico and Katie's eyes on her, too.

Piper looked directly at Chiron. "Yes," she said, before she could stop herself. She felt awful for lying to Chiron. And for what, her pride?

"Alright then. You three should get back to your cabins. It's getting late. Stay safe, children."

Nico and Katie agreed, hastily getting up and leaving. Piper felt guilty for pulling them into her lie.

She didn't move and Chiron looked at her quizzically.

"Is something the matter, Piper?" he questioned.

"No. Well, I don't know. Maybe?" He quirked a brow at her. She swallowed. "Jason and I need to talk to you about something."

He nodded. "I see. Should we fetch him, then?"

"I'll get him."

Piper pounced from her seat and headed for the door. Jason was waiting on one of the porch's rockers, cracking his knuckles nervously.

"Jason," she called. He jumped.

"It's time."

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Chiron greeted Jason kindly. They sat down across from him, their sides touching.

The centaur clapped a hand to his thigh. "So. What is it you needed to speak to me about?"

Piper started talking. "We were hoping to get your permission to visit my dad in Malibu."

"I see." Chiron's face showed that he obviously knew there was something else going on. "Is that all?"

It was Jason's turn to speak. "Well, we need to tell him something, but we want to tell him in person."

Chiron sat forward. "And are you about to tell me what you wish to tell him?"

Piper nodded and looked at Jason, taking a deep breath. There was no point in dragging it out. "I- I'm pregnant."

Chiron's eyes widened. He didn't say anything for a while.

"My Gods. This is very…surprising. Especially to hear it from you two," he added.

Jason squeezed Piper's hand. "You're the first person we've told. Except for Lacy and Mitchell, but that was kind of an accident."

He nodded. "And you wish to tell this to your father, then?" he asked, gesturing to Piper.

"Yes, we would."

There was a pause. Then Chiron spoke softly, "I'm very disappointed in you two. I never would have expected such irresponsibility from demigods like you. I thought you were better than this."

Piper felt shame burning her cheeks. "We know. And we're sorry. We're trying to deal with this ourselves, but we need your okay to leave camp. Will you give it to us?"

Chiron sighed, the nodded again. "Of course I will. But what is your plan for after that? After you tell your father?"

"I was thinking we could spend a the next few months in New Rome, where it'd be safe. We'd be close to Malibu so we could visit Piper's dad when we needed to, also," Jason answered.

"Alright. You have my permission then, to leave if you wish." He looked at them squarely. "Everything is going to change for you two. Nothing will ever be the same. I hope you understand that."

Jason nodded. "We do."

But did they?

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

They sent the email as soon as they got back to Jason's cabin. After that, Piper took his hand and looked him in the eye.

"I want to tell Annabeth."

He said okay.

Piper grabbed her cell phone and dialed Annabeth's number. She felt bad for disturbing Annabeth with bad news while she was on vacation, but if she didn't talk to someone about this soon, her head would explode.

She took her phone in the bathroom and sat on the toilet lid, cracking the bathroom door. She didn't want Jason to feel like she was shutting him out of the conversation. Annabeth picked up after three rings.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey, Annabeth. It's me."

" _Hey Piper! How's camp?"_

"It's, um, good, but I was hoping I could talk to y-"

" _Hey, Piper. Listen, me and Percy were about to go night surfing. Can I call you back?"_

"Well, I really need to-"

" _Come, on, it can't be that important! I'll call you as soon as we get back in, I promise! Then we can catch up all you wa-"_

"I'm pregnant."

The other line went silent for a long time and Piper was afraid that they had lost their connection. She could hear Jason shifting on his bunk.

Finally, _"Please tell me this is one of those prank calls."_ She could imagine Annabeth narrowing her eyes.

" _If it is, I will so kill you, Piper McLean. This is not funny."_

"No, it's not funny. And this isn't a prank." Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. Stupid hormones.

Annabeth was silent again.

_Oh my Gods, Piper. Oh my gods."_

"Yeah, I know," she choked out.

" _Does Jason know? Speaking of Jason, I'm gonna have to kick his ass later."_

"Yeah, he knows, and it's just as much his fault as it is mine. If you kick his ass, you'll have to kick mine, too." Piper laughed through her tears.

" _Are you okay, Pipes?"_

"I don't know."

" _We'll figure this out, okay? You know I'm always here for you, Percy too-"_

"Please don't tell Percy. Not yet."

" _Okay, I won't tell him. Who else knows?"_

"Jason, Lacy, Mitchell and Chiron. We talked to Chiron today. He gave us permission to visit my dad in Malibu."

" _That's good… I don't really know what to say, it's just, wow, this is just…"_

"I know."

" _If you need anything, just tell me okay? In fact, Percy and I weren't planning on leaving for a few more days, but we can come back early-"_

"No. I don't want your vacation to be ruined on account of me. Stay. I'll be okay."

" _Are you sure? Because it wouldn't be any trouble-"_

"I'm sure. Stay."

Annabeth hesitated. _"Okay. But you'll keep calling me, right? If you need anything?"_

"Yeah."

" _Promise?"_

"Promise."

" _Okay. Okay, okay, okay. We'll work this out, Pipes. Don't worry."_

"Thank you so much, Annabeth. I don't know what I'd do without you…"

" _None of that, okay? You're one of my best friends. This is my job."_

"Thanks."

" _And you're sure you're okay?"_

"Not really. But I'm still in one piece. That's just gonna have to be good enough for now. Don't worry about me, Annabeth. You're on vacation."

She snorted. _"Whatever you say, Piper. But call me tomorrow, alright? If you don't, I'm going to assume you had an aneurism and died. So call me."_

Piper laughed for real and it felt good. "Okay, Annabeth. I will."

" _Take care, Pipes."_

"You too. Bye."

" _Bye."_

The line went silent.

Piper left the bathroom to see Jason staring at her with tears in his eyes. She stopped short. Jason never cried.

"Piper…"

"Jason…"

He pulled her towards him like he did in the infirmary. She breathed in his scent of pine and cinnamon. It was the best smell in the world, she thought.

"I'm sorry, Piper."

She pulled away. "Stop that. We're both idiots, alright? We both suck big time. But saying you're sorry isn't going to do anything anymore. We need to buck up and clean up our mess. Together. We're a team, right?"

Jason wiped his eyes on his t-shirt and looked at her. "Right."

"Good."

They spent the rest of the night curled up in Jason's bunk, watching Breaking Bad on his laptop till the break of dawn.

And things felt kind of okay.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Piper's dad emailed them back a couple days later. He said they could come out on Saturday- four days from then- and stay out for a couple of weeks before he had to start back filming.

Jason and Piper spend the next four days hunting for cheap plane tickets on the internet-they decided good old fashioned mortal travel would be the safest for now- and packing their things.

"Pack a bathing suit. We might be on the beach some," Piper told Jason.

"But I don't have a bathing suit," he answered.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "You've lived in California for fifteen years and you don't own a bathing suit?"

Jason shrugged.

So the next day, they went shopping at the camp store for swimming trunks. While browsing the somewhat meager selection, Piper had picked up a pair emblazoned with little cartoon Zeus's holding up lightning bolts.

"How 'bout these?" she asked, trying not to giggle.

Jason didn't think it was funny.

He finally picked out a navy blue pair that Piper thought were boring. Jason called them "modest."

Their flight departed at nine-thirty AM on Saturday. Argus would drive them towards the main road that led onto the highway where a mortal taxi would pick them up and take them to the airport. They couldn't exactly be driving down interstate 495 with shattered a windshield. That had to be some kind of violation.

They packed bathing suits, clothes, all their bathroom necessities, Jason's laptop, chargers, books- in ancient Greek, of course-their phones, earbuds and a tiny bit of ambrosia stuffed in an empty travel sized shampoo bottle.

Their weapons would be shipped by Hermes Express to Malibu. Piper tried to imagine walking through security armed to the teeth with daggers, swords and knives. The mist might be able to warp the appearance of their little arsenal, but it was likely that they'd still look like weapons to mortals- guns and mace, maybe.

Things were packed, planned and ready.

Except for Piper and Jason. Piper was woken every morning by bile rising in her throat, ready to make a surprise appearance. Jason stocked up on saltines and ginger ale for his girlfriend. He hated seeing her like this.

That wasn't the only sign of Piper's pregnancy. She was snapping at someone one moment then crying and apologizing the next. Poor Mitchell had been traumatized by one of Piper's mood swings when he accidentally put her white Capri's in with the colored pile of dirty clothes for the Harpy's to pick up. She spent almost ten minutes yelling at him, then, as if a switch had been flipped, she was sobbing and hugging him in profuse apology. All of her siblings were quite concerned for her health.

Piper's eating habits had changed, too. She was _always_ hungry. Always. And foods she used to love, like sushi, made her gag. And now she had developed cravings for foods that made _Jason_ gag. One of her favorite midnight snacks was a pickle dipped in mayonnaise and mustard. It was pretty disgusting.

They had tried their best to conceal Piper's "condition," but some of the campers were starting to connect the dots. Their abrupt vacation to Malibu didn't help things.

But they tried to stay hopeful. Piper was excited to see her dad and spend time in her old home. Jason wanted to be excited, too, but he couldn't stop imagining worst case scenarios for Tristan's reaction to his daughter's pregnancy. They ranged from him passing out to slicing Jason's neck open with a letter opener.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Saturday snuck up on them. They met Argus at the beat up van, bags in hand, at eight o'clock. Piper chattered about their beach house and Malibu and her dad all the way to the cab and to the airport. Jason stayed mostly silent.

They were ushered through the airport with surprising speed. The line at security wasn't long, fortunately, and the plane arrived on time. Jason had never been on an airplane before, which Piper found hilarious.

"A son of the sky that's never flown in an airplane. How ironic."

They arrived at their layover at the Chicago O'Hare at about 10:30, with a two and a half hour flight and one hour time difference. They stopped at a little pizza restaurant in the airport. Jason had a slice of cheese pizza and Piper had her piece topped with black olives, anchovies, bell peppers, sausage, pepperoni and extra cheese. It was somewhat unnerving.

Finally after another three and a half hour flight, they touched down at LAX at noon, this time with a three hour time difference. They got a cab out to Malibu outside of the airport.

Piper felt a mixture of anxiety and enthusiasm.

"I mean, I'm so happy to be back home with my dad, but the only reason we're even going is to deliver bad news! Kind of ruins it, I guess," she was saying to Jason in the cab. "He's going to be so disappointed in me. I just don't know if I can handle it."

Jason rubbed her back. "Your dad loves you more than anything, Pipes. He might be a little surprised, but you know he'll stand by you no matter what." At least, that was what he hoped.

"Yeah, I know," Piper sighed, laying her head on Jason's shoulder.

They got to Piper's house at about 12:30. Jason had known she grew up in a mansion, but he hadn't expected a freaking _castle._ It was like something out of Downton Abbey. He couldn't hold back his gasp when they pulled up the gates, the mansion towering over their heads.

"Holy shit, Piper," he said in awe, craning his head to get the full view.

Piper laughed nervously. "It's something, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah…" he replied.

Tristan McLean was waiting for them in front of the yawning, French doors of the house. He looked just as nervous as Jason felt, which made him feel slightly better. As soon as the cab pulled to a stop in front of her dad, Piper leapt out of the car and into her his arms, laughing.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "I missed you."

Tristan laughed. "So did I, Pipes. You've been gone for way too long, you know."

"I know," she replied, reaching for Jason. "Dad, you know Jason."

"Yes, I do believe so," he said, holding out a hand to Jason. Jason shook his hand and looked into Tristan's sincere eyes, thinking, _if only you knew, you wouldn't want to shake my hand._

But that would have to wait. Tristan brought them inside showed them all the new furniture and art he had purchased at an auction in France. Piper just rolled her eyes and winked at Jason.

"Dad, you're never even here to sit on that furniture or look at that art. What's the point?"

Tristan looked offended. "Can't a man have nice things?"

They had dinner on a veranda that look out on the ocean. Jason could see a few sparse people on the beach; a man walking a dog, a woman and her daughter building a sand castle. The little girl's laughter carried up to where they were sitting and Jason smiled.

Piper's dad was shocked when she barely touched her food- "But, Piper, noodles in white clam sauce is your favorite!"- and Jason could tell she was trying to hold her pizza down.

Things were pretty relaxed for a while. The three of them talked and joked; Piper even managed to choke down a few bites of her "favorite" food. But they couldn't hold it in for too long. It was just too agonizing, sitting here in front of Piper's dad, who had invited him in and fed him dinner, when they were sitting on a secret like this. The guilt was eating at the both of them, Jason could tell.

The chance to tell Tristan was drawing close, and they both knew it.

With a deep breath, Piper sat down her fork and looked at her father. "Dad. Jason and I have something to tell you."

"Yeah?" he asked, shoveling a bite of noodles into his mouth, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Piper swallowed. "Dad. I'm pregnant."


	6. Tough Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tristan issues an ultimatum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more for this morning. Just one more.

Tristan didn't say anything for what felt like a decade. He just stared at them, frozen mid-chew on his mouthful of pasta. His eyes were like two brown saucers peeled back on his face. It would have been a funny sight, if not for the grim circumstances.

"Dad," Piper spoke carefully. "Say something."

That seemed to snap him out of his trance. Sitting back, her dad swallowed the pasta.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "That we're idiots, that you're angry? To yell at us for a while?"

He quirked a brow and, in a frighteningly calm voice, said, "Why would I do that?"

"Because then things would be normal. And I'd know that you're not _too_ mad at me."

Tristan popped his knuckles. "Okay."

"Okay? Like, _okay?_ " Jason asked.

"No."

Silence.

Jason felt immensely uncomfortable. He had to agree with Piper; this would have been _much_ less terrifying if Tristan were yelling at them, strange as it sounded. Something about his eerie calmness was making Jason's palms sweat profusely. It was weird.

"Maybe I am," Tristan said, breaking the silence. Piper and Jason at each other, then back up at him.

"Maybe you're _what_?" Piper questioned nervously.

"Maybe I _am_ too angry, Piper. Is it really that hard to believe after what you just told me?"

Piper reached across the table for his hand. "Dad-"

"Is it?" he asked again, pulling away from her. "That hard to believe, really?"

When Piper didn't answer, he shook his head. Throwing his napkin onto the table, he stood up.

"Mr. McLean-" Jason began, but he was cut off.

"Don't you dare, boy. I barely have the patience to keep from strangling _her,"_ he gestured to Piper. "Don't make things any worse for yourself."

"Dad, please!" Piper made to follow him, but Jason grabbed the hem of her shirt. When she looked down at him in confusion, he just shook his head.

Tristan was already off the veranda and marching down the hall. "I'm going to bed," he called, not turning around.

Piper fell back into her chair. Tears were already welling in her eyes. Jason reached forward and petted her hair gently.

"He just needs time, Pipes. This is a lot to handle."

She nodded, wiping her tears. "Yeah, I know."

Jason grabbed their plates in either hand and jerked his head towards the glass doors, gesturing for her to follow. "It's been a long day. We should head to bed."

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

Jason took the guest bedroom nearest to Piper's old bedroom. He wanted to be close to her, but he figured Tristan wouldn't appreciate them snuggling up a few doors down from his own bedroom. Definitely not the best way to snag brownie points.

They parted ways in the hallway. Jason swept a lock of hair out of her face slowly, trying to memorize every curve and edge of her face, as if he would never see her again. _With the way our luck goes_ , Jason thought, _you could never be sure._

Pressing a feather light kiss to her hairline, he told her goodnight. She squeezed his hand in reply then headed back to her own bedroom.

Flipping the light on, Piper surveyed her old bedroom. It was exactly the way she had left it, albeit somewhat dusty, but mostly untouched. She smiled.

Navy blue curtains hung down over a big window that overlooked the beach. As she shucked off her sandals, she felt the familiarly fuzzy green carpet squish in between her bare toes. It had been there since she was eight.

She didn't bother to change into some pajamas, just unhooked her bra, pulled off her shorts and climbed into bed. The long-unused sheets were cold and scratchy on her bare legs.

Pictures from times long forgotten stared down at her from where they were pinned on the wall. There was a picture of her first time in the ocean as a toddler, smiling impishly at the camera, not at all perturbed by the cold water rushing over her chubby little legs. Another was of her first day at boarding school, this time not looking so joyful. Clad in a navy blazer, knee socks, ugly black shoes and a skirt, she looked like a chicken being prepared for slaughter. More pictures covered the walls like a timeline of her short life, from the third grade Christmas pageant at St. Corinth's Academy for Girls to her awkward freshman school photo.

There was one in particular that make her gaze linger. It was a Kodak of her and her dad at the beach up north, posing with their "prize" catches they'd caught at the dock, with silly grins plastered on their faces. It was her first time fishing and she'd only managed to catch one measly trout. But she had been so proud of that trout, honestly, and so had her dad.

Piper could remember his smile shining down on her as she had held up her catch in initial disappointment, and his glowing praise that convinced her that _hey, one trout's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself._

Piper wondered if she would ever see that proud smile again. It had torn at her heart to see her dad look so disappointed in his daughter. Even when she'd gotten kicked out of school after school, gotten arrested for stealing that BMW, lied, cheated, and stole, her father had never once looked at her in the way he had today. And it _hurt._ So bad.

Piper turned her back to the photo and stared at the opposite wall at her posters of Justin Timberlake. She'd had a crush on him for longer that she was willing to admit.

She spent the next hour tossing and turning, not able to get comfortable. It was just so damn _hot,_ even for California. The comforter had been thrown off, then the blankets, and eventually the sheets, when Piper decided she was done with this nonsense. Climbing out of bed, she cracked the door open and tiptoed down the hall.

_Water,_ Piper thought. She was parched.

The fridge, as always, was stocked with bottled water. She grabbed one and headed towards the informal dining room. (They had a lot of dining rooms.)

That plan was shot down as soon as she stepped through the doorframe. Tristan was sitting at the table in his bathrobe, flipping through old photo albums. Piper tried to make a break for it, but her father had already spotted her.

He cleared his throat. "Piper. Sit with me."

She sat.

Her dad didn't look up at her for a minute or so. He just kept flipping through the album, the slightest smile ghosting over his face every so often. It seemed Piper wasn't the only one reminiscing tonight.

"Daddy," she said softly. Tristan tilted his gaze at her quizzically. She hadn't called him that in years.

"Piper. I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed in you. You have to understand that."

"I wish you were angry with me," Piper whispered. "I wouldn't feel so guilty if you yelled at me."

He smiled a little bit. "I don't think I have the energy for that right now, kid."

"I'm so sorry, dad. I know you have every right to be mad or disappointed or whatever, but please, you have to help me. I don't know what to do. I need you to fix things for me," she pleaded. "Like you always do."

Tristan gave her a sad look. "Listen, Piper. You made an adult decision when you and Jason chose to have unprotected sex-" She cringed in embarrassment, but he continued, "And now you're dealing with adult consequences. Which means youhave to _be_ an adult about this. I'll help you, Piper. But you and Jason made this mess; you're going to have to be the ones to clean it up. Understand?"

Piper nodded. She had said the same things to herself just a few days ago, but hearing her father say it was so different, like his words made it all real for the first time. The weight of everything bore down on her in that moment, all the things she had been avoiding and all the things she hadn't even thought about, piling onto her shoulders.

She put her face in her hands and cried. Tristan stood up and left, taking the photo album with him.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

The next week was just as Jason had expected- horribly awkward.

The three of them had scooted around each other for the first few days, only speaking casually about breakfast and the weather and politics. If you didn't know any better, you might think that everything was okay.

But judging by the cold look Piper's dad would give him every time they passed in the hall, things were _not_ okay.

Finally, five days after they'd told the guy his daughter was carrying Jason's little bastard, Tristan got down to business.

"Do you have any plans?"

"Yeah," Jason answered slowly. "We were thinking of moving out to New Rome in a few months, where we'd be near you, but, you know, still be safe."

Tristan nodded. "What else?"

Piper looked at Jason. "What do you mean _what else?_ " she asked warily.

Tristan looked at them like they were idiots. "Uh, I don't know, jobs? How are you going to support yourselves out there? And college! You have to have an education if you're plan on making a decent living. No one wants to hire a broke teenager with no college degree. Didn't you guys discuss _any_ of this?"

Piper shifted nervously. "Yeah, but we were thinking maybe since you were, I mean- that we could…" She trailed off, refusing to meet her dad's eyes.

Tristan raised his eyebrows. "Mooch off of me? I told you, Piper. You chose to be an adult, and adults can't always come running back to their dads for money. I'll pay for college and help you out with rent if you do decide to move out here. But you need to understand that you're facing the consequences of your own actions, not mine. You'll be the ones held accountable, not me. The sooner you realize that, the better."

And the weight grew heavier.

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

After that, things were a little more comfortable, believe it or not. Tristan seemed to deem his work as scolding parent finished, and the next few days were more lighthearted.

They walked the boardwalk, window-shopped and seashell hunted the days away, just enjoying the beautiful California sunshine. It was a nice break from the perpetual stress of the last few weeks.

The height of their good moods was reached on Tuesday, ten days after they'd arrived. Piper had awoken, of course, to an urgent appointment with the toilet bowl. She'd gotten used to the regular pattern of morning sickness; It almost always happened around 8AM, with the occasional bout of nausea in early afternoon.

Jason and her dad fussed over her relentlessly while she was sick, when all she really wanted was to be left alone in her misery. They had good intentions, she knew, but Piper found herself wanting shove her head down the toilet to escape them on more than one occasion.

According to the pregnancy book she'd bought at the bookstore a few miles from the beach, the morning sickness would only last until the second trimester, thankfully. She'd also learned quite a lot of other little factoids from the book. For example, Piper was horrified to hear that symptoms of pregnancy were acne, swelling, excess gas, enlarged breasts, and the constant urge to pee. It was all so disgustingly overwhelming.

Not to mention Piper had spent the entire week and a half feeling like she was trapped in a sauna. All the blankets from her bed were in a pile on the floor, having never once been in use. She'd turned up the AC every day and turned the heat down every night. What she couldn't figure out, though, was how the awful heat that plagued her didn't seem to bother anyone else. It was very frustrating.

But on that bright Tuesday morning, even dry heaving into the porcelain pony couldn't bring Piper down. When she felt balanced enough to make her way down the stairs, she found her dad in the garage, loading surf boards into the bed of his truck.

He smiled when he saw her. "Hey Pipes! Are you up for some surfing? Or are you purely a _city_ gal now?"

Piper laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it, old man."

**(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)**

She had to admit, her skills _were_ a bit rusty. Of course, her dad made sure to rub it in every time she wiped out- which was quite frequently.

And poor Jason, who'd never been surfing, was spending more time in the water than on the board. It was kind of funny to watch him gain his balance shakily, shout, "I think I've got it this tim-" then get thrown into the water by the merciless white caps once more.

They decided to retire the boards by lunch. Together, they feasted on a picnic of turkey-mayo-onion sandwiches,-the only one of Piper's old favorites that didn't make her insides turn over- pickles, Pecan Sandies and lemonade.

After lunch, Piper and her dad decided to show Jason how the pros- which they considered themselves to be- make a sand castle.

Jason was in charge of bring buckets of water from the tide line back up the beach to where the master architects were constructing a mini sized Biltmore Estate. Tristan was building the foundation for the mansion, while Piper was working on the trusses that spiraled down the front. The whole process was all very precise, really.

When the masterpiece was complete, Jason had to stand back to gawk at it. Piper and Tristan was both very proud of themselves, and rightfully so. The sand castle looked like a display out of an art museum, with its rounded base and intricate design. Jason had never seen the Biltmore House before, so had to assume it looked something like this.

The last hour or so of the afternoon was spent playing around in the water like little kids, dunking each other and laughing until they couldn't breathe. Piper was sure she hadn't laughed so much in years.

Despite her father's firm stance on "tough love," Piper was glad they had come to Malibu. And even though it hadn't gone so great, she knew telling her dad the truth was the right thing to do. It would only have gotten harder with time, she knew.

Looking at her father's creased face as they laid on their beach towels and watched the sunset, Piper realized she wouldn't trade him for anything.

It was all so calm, so peaceful. Piper should've known it wouldn't last.

"Listen, you two. I was thinking, and I'm not so sure about this," Tristan said, staring up at the sky.

Piper turned to look at him. "Not sure about what?"

Tristan sighed and sat up. Piper and Jason did the same. "Dad, what is it? What's wrong?"

"It's just, I know you're both good kids and all, but…" he hesitated. "But I don't think either of you are prepared for this. You're just teenagers."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is, have either of you ever thought about adoption?"

They stared at him. "Adoption?" Jason echoed.

"Yeah, just hear me out. Somewhere out there, there're two people dying for a kid who can't have one, and here you two are, a couple of teenagers with a baby they have no idea how to handle! It would solve all your problems. The two of you could finish high school, go to college, live your lives at your own pace, you know? No baby to rush things."

Neither one said anything.

"And I mean, neither of you know how long your relationship will even last-"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jason cut across.

Tristan held up a hand. "I didn't mean any offense by it, kid. I'm just trying to say-"

"Say what?" Jason interrupted again. "That we're just two lovesick puppies? That we'll run our course eventually and then you won't have to deal with me anymore?"

Piper made a move to say something, but she was overcome with a sudden bout of vertigo. She belatedly realized that not only was she covered in sweat, but that her breathing sounded like it had gone through a wood chipper. _God,_ she thought. _Why is it so damn hot?_

'Guys.." she said, attempting to stand up. "I think I need to…"

But neither of them were listening. They were already arguing about the permanence of a life in New Rome or something like that. Piper felt like her brain was detaching from the conversation like Velcro. This was bad. Really bad.

Stumbling to her feet and up the beach, Piper made her way back to the house. She had to focus all of her attention on putting one foot in front of the other, and trying not to face plant in the sand. _Left, right, left, right…right, left, right…_

Finally, Piper managed to drag herself up the back steps, onto the deck and through the door. She staggered into the bathroom on ground level and turned the faucet on. Splashing water on her face didn't do anything to cool her off, though it did help the dizziness. Jason's voice called to her from the back door.

"Piper? Piper, where are you? Are you okay?"

Piper didn't bother answering. She crouched on the cold tiles and pressed her cheek to the side of the tub, trying to take even breaths.

It was Tristan who found her first. "Christ, Piper, you look like a tomato!" He reached a hand forward to feel her forehead, then snatched it back with a gasp.

"Holy shit, you're burning up. We need to get you to the hospital," he said urgently.

Piper waved him off. "Ambrosia, dad. Jason…"

Thankfully, her dad understood. He called for Jason, who took one look at Piper and sprinted up the stairs for his bag. Tristan grabbed a wash cloth from the cabinet and rinsed it in cool water.

"Here, hold this on your forehead," he offered. _Not going to help,_ Piper wanted to say, but she took it anyway.

Jason was back in an instant, clutching a little shampoo bottle in his hand. He popped the lid off of the bottle and held it out to Piper, who took it gratefully. She downed it in one fluid motion.

Then she screamed.

If Piper had been burning before, she was _scorching_ now. The ambrosia ripped like liquid fire at her esophagus, tasting more like lava and chili peppers than Baklava. Her eyes watered furiously, like a faucet that wouldn't shut off.

Jason and her dad started to freak out.

"I thought it was supposed to help?" Tristan demanded.

"It- it was!" Jason stuttered. "This has never happened before, I don't understand why-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Piper was lurching away from the tub and towards the toilet. She lifted the lid and grabbed her hair in a practiced manner, before she felt the liquid fire resurfacing.

She wretched painfully as both the ambrosia and her lunch were emptied into the toilet. Her whole body shook and convulsed with pain. After a minute of vomiting, Piper tasted something coppery. Looking into the toilet bowl, she could see splashes of red. She clenched the wash cloth in her hands and continued to throw up.

Tristan was already calling 911 in the other room.

Jason rubbed her back gently, hands shaking. "Oh, Piper. This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, please leave a comment, kudos, whatever floats your boat. I hope you all have a lovely rest of the day-or night, depending on where you are. Thanks for reading!


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